BWW Interviews: Author KEVIN FARLEY - Into the Woods Changed My Life

Kevin Farley, father, husband, musician and author, has penned a memoir that is a story for the ages. A native of New Jersey, Farley now lives in Maine with his wife Cheryl, the Director of Marketing and Public Relations at the Ogunquit Playhouse. BroadwayWorld.com had the opportunity to interview Farley about the recent popularity of his new book, Out of the Woods: A True Story, which rose to #1 on the Amazon Kindle Store Broadway and Musicals sales ranking two weeks after its publication, and is now available in paperback.

In Out of the Woods: A True Story, Farley takes his six-year-old daughter, Kendyll, to see a summer production of Into the Woods believing in his ignorance it would be appropriate for children because it's about fairy tales. But young Kendyll's mother died when she was only three weeks old and seeing the show opens the floodgates of unresolved grief for both Farley and his daughter. Kendyll asks to see the Into the Woods repeatedly, and the two begin a journey into their own dark and scary woods. Out of the Woods is a true story about the power of music, theatre, storytelling, and finding love again.

Farley writes with wisdom and wit, and shows his readers how a cathartic experience can happen when you least expect it. He said, "The intended audience for my memoir was people who suffer from grief and those who try to help them, as well as anyone involved in theatre. But I'm finding that readers are relating it to recovery from all kinds of adversity."

Because the musical Into the Woods helped Farley and his daughter deal with grief, he shows that the arts can have a healing effect on the human spirit. And he has a long history with the arts. His regular occupation for 35 years has been performing as Irish Music Guy in Irish pubs, festivals, and concerts. But since his Into the Woods experience, he has concentrated on bringing his music to elderly and infirm people in therapeutic recreational settings.

"I believe more every day," he said, "that the right song delivered to the right person at the right time with the right purity of intention can provide far greater benefit to them than I will ever know. I know this because it happened to Kendyll and me."

Farley commented, "Out of the Woods is definitely a personal story with a point. I tried to write a straightforward recounting of the facts, without moralizing or trying to tell the reader what to think or feel. All I had to do to make it effective was to convey the real facts of the story. I was lucky to get help from Molly Beck Ferguson, who played Cinderella in the production we saw, and who had a special connection with Kendyll. Her memories and perspective were invaluable to how the book turned out."

And Farley has been very pleased with the reception of his book. "The reaction so far has been very gratifying and exciting. Some readers have said it brought their own losses into clearer relief, and others have said it makes the point that quality theatre has life-changing properties."

This is Farley's first book. He commented, "My friends and family were supportive of the endeavor, and especially Kendyll, who is now 25 years old. I could never have gone public with anything so personal unless I had her support. She believes in the purpose of the book as I do."

We asked Farley if writing the book has changed his outlook. "I have an increased appreciation for the work I do every day," he said. "Writing the book has strengthened and renewed my commitment to doing the best work I possibly can."

Farley's future plans include starting a website, theatrechangedmylife.org. "Kendyll and I are working on it together," he says. "It's a place for people to share their own experiences of a work of theatre bringing about true catharsis, the purgation of pain and grief that is essential for moving on. She feels that we were lucky to encounter Into the Woods when we did, and that, in a time when arts budgets are being cut in schools all over the country, helping bring attention to the power of theatre is a way that some good might come out of what happened to her mother."

It sounds like Kevin Farley hit the mark in his book when he says that his little girl, now grown, always acts in a way that would make her mother proud.

Out of the Woods: A True Story by Kevin Farley is available as a Kindle edition and in paperback. For purchase information, visit http://www.amazon.com/Out-Woods-Story-Kevin-Farley/dp/1505435951/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1422407702&sr=1-3&keywords=out+of+the+woods. You can also learn more about Kevin Farley by visiting his web site www.irishmusicguy.com.

Photo Credit: Kevin and Kendyll, Courtesy of Kevin Farley

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